Community thanks first responders who put out historic Catholic Church fire

A community came together to thank first responders who helped extinguish a fire at a historic church.

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As reported on News Center 7 at 6:00, dozens of people wanted to thank first responders.

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As previously reported by News Center 7, a large fire destroyed the historic church in late May.

News Center 7’s Malik Patterson said the church’s roof and steeple were destroyed, but firefighters saved the rest of the building.

Community members say there is a lot to do.

“To see them on their ladders trying to put that fire, humongous fire out of the church is scary, and they all live among us,” said Jean Thove.

Patterson said Sunday was an emotional afternoon for the people in Maria Stein.

Jennifer Schack with the Archdiocese of Cincinnati was there. She spoke about the importance of the meeting.

“Thank God for the gifts of others to help us during our times of struggle. And this has really been one of those moments for this community,” she said.

Church members told Patterson that the new building committee is focused on saving items from inside and what’s next.

“We really need to think about the next 100 years, you know, our future, because that’s what happened when this church was built, that’s what they did,” said Maria Rethman.

The new building committee meets again on Monday to discuss what can still be saved and what needs to be done next regarding insurance.

We will continue to follow this story.

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